Osama bin Laden blamed France's "injustices" towards Muslims for the recent abduction of French citizens by al-Qaeda's affiliate in North Africa, according to a report Wednesday, dpa reported.
"The taking of your experts in Niger as hostages, while they were being protected by your proxy there, is a reaction to the injustice you are practicing against our Muslim nation," according to a recording broadcast on the Arabic satellite network al-Jazeera.
A voice reported to be that of the al-Qaeda leader said in the recording that France's recent ban on face veils was one of the reasons for the abductions last month in Niger of seven foreigners, including five French nationals and two Africans working with a construction firm.
"If you unjustly thought that it is your right to prevent free Muslim women from wearing the face veil, is it not our right to expel your invading men and cut their necks?" bin Laden reportedly said on the tape.
French troops are in North Africa, working with local governments to combat militant groups, including al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the local offshoot of the global terrorist organisation.
AQIM claimed responsibility for the killing in July of Michel Germaneau, a 78-year-old Frenchmen who was being held hostage.
"The equation is very clear and simple: as you kill, you will be killed; as you take others hostages, you will be taken hostages; as you waste our security we will waste your security," the voice on the recording said.
A recent report in Arabic media said that AQIM demanded that Paris annul its ban on the burqa, release individuals imprisoned in France and pay nearly 10 million dollars, in return for the captured people.
The latest voice-recording also included a warning to France to leave Afghanistan. France has some 3,000 soldiers in a broader NATO coalition there.
"The way to save your position is to lift all of your oppression and withdraw from the ill-fated (operation in) Afghanistan," the recording said.
Earlier this month, an alleged bin Laden recording was released on Islamist websites, in which the al-Qaeda leader, believed to be hiding in Pakistan, called for greater disaster relief for Muslims in need.
The voice on that recording cited several cases of disasters, including the plight of Somalis and people in flood-hit areas of Pakistan. dpa ayb sg dms Author: Aya Batrawy